The 1938/39 campaign holds a particularly important place in football history as the final complete English season before the outbreak of the Second World War. It featured a compelling championship race, a memorable FA Cup and programmes that now provide an invaluable record of the pre-war game.
Everton were crowned First Division champions, finishing four points ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Teenage centre-forward Tommy Lawton played a decisive role, scoring 35 league goals as the Toffees claimed their fifth championship. Wolves also enjoyed an excellent campaign but narrowly missed the opportunity to secure a league and cup double.
The FA Cup produced one of the era’s most famous final results. Portsmouth defeated heavily favoured Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 at Wembley to lift the trophy for the first time. With competitive football soon suspended, Portsmouth remained FA Cup holders throughout the war until the tournament resumed in 1945/46.
The programmes collected on this page cover fixtures from across the Football League, including matches involving Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Ipswich Town and many other clubs. Alongside team line-ups and results, they contain club notes, fixture lists and local advertisements that reveal the character of matchdays in the late 1930s.
For collectors, programmes from 1938/39 carry added historical significance. They document the final uninterrupted campaign of a footballing era that was about to change dramatically. Increasingly fragile and difficult to find, each surviving issue preserves a small but valuable part of the sport’s last full season before wartime competition began.
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Retain & Transfer List 1938/39
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Everton v Liverpool 20.08.1938
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Ipswich v Southend 27.08.1938
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Man Utd v Bolton 31.08.1938
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Everton v Brentford 03.09.1938
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Stoke v Middlesbrough 03.09.1938
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Tranmere v Fulham 03.09.1938
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Middlesbrough v Chelsea 10.09.1938
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Arsenal v Everton 10.09.1938
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Liverpool v Middlesbrough 14.09.1938
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Germany v Poland 18.09.1938
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Shrewsbury v Swansea 19.09.1938 (Welsh CF Replay)
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Arsenal v Aston Villa 24.09.1938
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Middlesbrough v Charton 24.09.1938
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Coventry v Newcastle 01.10.1938
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Sunderland v Arsenal 01.10.1938
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Everton v Wolves 08.10.1938
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Stockport v Crewe 15.10.1938
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Sunderland v Middlesbrough 22.10.1938
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Bristol Rovers v Newport 29.10.1938
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Norwich v Millwall 29.10.1938
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Norwich v Millwall 29.10.1938
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Sheffield Utd v Sheffield Wednesday 29.10.1938
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Wolves v Birmingham 05.11.1938
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Everton v Middlesbrough 05.11.1938
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QPR V Aldershot 12.11.1938
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Charlton v Derby 12.11.1938
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Stoke v Aston Villa 12.11.1938
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Newcastle v Fulham 12.11.1938
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Sunderland Reserves v Throckley 12.11.1938
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Ireland v Poland 13.11.1938
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Darlington v Oldham 19.11.1938
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Middlesbrough v Arsenal 26.11.1938
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Preston v Aston Villa 26.11.1938
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Brentford v Middlesbrough 03.12.1938
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Brighton v Palace 10.12.1938
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Arsenal v Stoke 17.12.1938
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Everton v Charlton 17.12.1938
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Aldershot v Palace 27.12.1938
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Southampton v Sheffield Utd 27.12.1938
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Brentford v Everton 31.12.1938
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Arsenal v Huddersfield 31.12.1938
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Sheffield United v West Brom 14.01.1939
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Chelmsford v Guildford 14.01.1939
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Southend v Bristol Rovers 14.01.1939
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Man City v Blackburn 28.01.1939
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Sheffield Utd v Luton 28.01.1939
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Chelsea v Man Utd 28.01.1939
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Newcastle Reserves v Bolton Reserves 28.01.1939
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Newcastle Reserves v Bolton Reserves 28.01.1939
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Bristol City v Clapton 28.01.1939
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Crewe v Doncaster 11.02.1939
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New Brighton v Barrow 11.02.1939
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Sheff Utd v Man City 25.02.1939 | Sheff Utd v Swansea 11.03.1939
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Leeds v Arsenal 11.03.1939
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Wales V Ireland 15.03.1939
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Irish League v Scottish League 17.03.1939
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Northampton v Walsall 18.03.1939
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Sheff Utd v Tranmere 25.03.1939
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Man Utd v Everton 29.03.1939
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Brentford v Preston 07.04.1939
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Bolton reserves v Man Utd Reserves 07.04.1939 | Bolton v Sunderland 08.04.1939
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Bolton reserves v Man Utd Reserves 07.04.1939 | Bolton v Sunderland 08.04.1939
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Arsenal v Blackpool 10.04.1939
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Stoke v Bolton 10.04.1939
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Millwall v Spurs 15.04.1939
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Millwall v Spurs 15.04.1939
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Sheff Wed v Notts Forest 15.04.1939
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Arsenal v Man Utd 15.04.1939
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Doncaster v Bradford City 20.04.1939
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Sheffield United v Fulham 22.04.1939
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Celtic v St Johnstone 22.04.1939
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Bristol Rovers v Newport 06.05.1939
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Sheff Utd v Spurs 06.05.1939
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Arsenal v Brentford 06.05.1939
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Wolves v Sunderland 06.05.1939
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Ipswich v Aston Villa 08.05.1939 (Hospital Cup)
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Colchester v Southend 10.05.1939
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England Schools v Wales Schools 20.05.1939
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British Columbia v San Francisco 27.05.1939
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Schalke v Dresdner 04.06.1939
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Schalke v Vienna 18.06.1939 (German Cup Final)
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Wills Cigarette Cards (50) 1939
